GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior Avery Close (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Gettysburg College out-scored Mary Baldwin University 10-4 over the final three minutes of overtime to pull out a 91-84 victory in the opening game of the Gettysburg Tip-Off Tournament Friday night in Bream Gym.
 

                   
Gettysburg's Top Performers

• Avery Close '22: 20 Points, 12 Rebounds, 10-19 FGM-A
• Colin Farrell '25 (Matawan, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy): 15 Points
• Ryan McKeon '24 (Landenberg, Pa./Sanford): 13 Points, 7 Rebounds, 3 Blocks
• Jack Rooney '22 (Chatham, N.J./Chatham): 12 Points,
• Elijah Williams '23 (Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends): 10 Points, 5 Rebounds

 
Mary Baldwin's Top Performers

• Quentin Hart: 21 Points, 7-13 FGM-A
• Jaden Ignacio: 20 Points, 4-7 3FGM-A
• Vernon Fraley: 20 Points, 8 Rebounds
• Tyler Thomas: 11 Points, 5 Steals, 4 Assists

 
Game Summary - First Half

• Close, who took a gap year to return for his senior season, scored the first points of the new season on a strong move in the post. McKeon's first career three-pointer gave the Bullets a 7-2 lead just over two minutes into the game.
• Mary Baldwin tallied nine of the next 11 points to jump in front 11-9. That would be the Fighting Squirrels' only lead of the first half as the Bullets ran back in front with a 9-0 run capped by a lay-up by freshman Carl Schaller (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) after swiping the in-bounds pass.
• A pair of free throws by Hart pulled Mary Baldwin within three points (24-21) with seven minutes remaining, but the visitors would go ice cold with only one more made field goal before the break. Gettysburg rolled into halftime on a 16-3 run as back-to-back buckets by Close made it 40-24.

 
Game Summary - Second Half

• The Bullets used their size advantage to continue to dominate inside the paint and extend their lead in the second half. Close threw down a two-handed hammer on a fast break and Farrell and McKeon followed up with lay-ups to push the margin to 50-34 with less than 16 minutes remaining. The lead hit a game-high 21 (57-36) on a putback by freshman Rassoul Abakar (Cameroon/Notre Dame Fairfield) at 13:32.
• Mary Baldwin steadily chipped away at the deficit by drawing free throws and knocking down shots from deep. Ignacio hit all four of his three-pointers in the second half with two on back-to-back possessions slicing the margin to just five (68-63) with five minutes remaining. A lay-up by Thomas was followed by four-straight free throws to cap a 12-0 run and give Mary Baldwin a 69-68 lead with 3:32 left.
• Close hit a pair of shots for Gettysburg, but Ignacio answered each with a bucket of his own, including his final three-pointer to push his team in front 74-72 at 2:20. Following an offensive rebound, Farrell knocked down a three-pointer from the wing to hand the lead back to the Bullets 75-74 with 1:48 remaining.
• Fraley hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left and Williams hit 1-of-2 attempts from the charity stripe to force the tie. Mary Baldwin missed a three-pointer with six seconds remaining, but Gettysburg turned the ball over on the ensuing in-bounds. Hart's last-second three-pointer was off-target as time expired to send the game to overtime.

 
Game Summary – Overtime

• Gettysburg came right out with a three-pointer from the corner by Williams to seize the lead in overtime. A pair of lay-ups by Hart came around a put-back by Close to set the score at 81-80 with 3:28 left in the extra session.
• McKeon came up with an offensive rebound on the next possession and Close padded the lead with a bucket in the paint. Another lay-up by Farrell made it 85-80.
• Hart tried to keep Mary Baldwin in the game with a floating jump shot in the paint to cut the lead to 85-82, but Gettysburg's paint presence proved too much as Williams converted under the hoop and McKeon knocked down a pair of free throws to push the margin to seven (89-92)  with 29 seconds left. It was a game of free throws in the final seconds with Rooney sealing the win with two makes with 15 seconds left.

 
By the Numbers

• Gettysburg shot over 50 percent in each of the three periods and closed the day hitting 37-of-73 field goals (50.7 percent). The Bullets won the rebounding battle (47-40) and swatted away eight shots.
• The Orange and Blue played their first game in 630 days. Mary Baldwin was playing its first-ever game as an NCAA Division III program. The Fighting Squirrels played a handful of exhibition games as a club team in 2020-21 and played in an exhibition against Division I Winthrop University earlier this week.
• Gettysburg won the opening-round game of its own tournament for the third consecutive time. The overtime contest was the first at the tip-off tournament since Delaware Valley beat Alvernia 75-70 in the 2016 championship game.
• The Bullets will be making their 22nd appearance in the title game. The team claimed its 12th tip-off tournament crown with a 78-58 win over SUNY Geneseo in 2019.
• Close recorded his eighth career double-double. He is vying for his third all-tournament award at Gettysburg's tip-off tournament after winning acclaim in 2018 and 2019.

 
Where the Series Stands
This was the first-ever meeting between Gettysburg and Mary Baldwin.
 
Next Up
Gettysburg meets Hiram College (2-1) in the championship game of the tip-off tournament on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Terriers beat Penn State Abington 66-63 in Friday's second game.